Traveling Tips for Tet Holiday 2024: Everything You Need to Know

Have you planned for this Lunar New Year holiday yet? You might spend time gathering with your family, or you and your family might enjoy a trip together to relax and recharge after a year of work and study. Whether you go to any destination, domestically or internationally, have a look at the travel tips we introduce below to make your trip more meaningful.

1 Note some home precautions before leaving

Before enjoying your trip, the most important thing is to perform the following home precautions:

• Simplify home decoration: You wouldn’t want your house to look out of place among other beautifully decorated houses during the Lunar New Year. However, limit the use of flammable and hard-to-clean decorative items so that you don’t have to clean up the dust at the beginning of the year when you return home.
• Check electrical outlets: Make sure unnecessary electrical outlets are turned off. Only leave the necessary electrical sources on, otherwise, turn off the main switch completely.
• Check for gas leaks: Make sure the gas tanks are securely locked to prevent gas leaks that can cause fire and explosion.
• Check water pipes: Pay attention to locking the water pipes and check for any leaking valves. Water leakage not only costs money but also poses many risks such as causing moisture and mold in your home, electrical malfunctions.
• Clean up and dispose of garbage: Pay attention to clean up all the garbage before the trip, especially organic waste. You wouldn’t want to come home and be greeted by a foul smell.
• Clean the refrigerator: You should try to consume all perishable food in the refrigerator before leaving to avoid spoilage and odor. If you consider turning off the refrigerator power during the trip, remember to clean the refrigerator thoroughly and put some charcoal pieces to absorb moisture.
• Note fuel in your vehicle: Gasoline is flammable, so make sure your vehicle at home is not leaking fuel and the gas cap is tightly closed. It’s best to drain all the gasoline from your car and store it in a tightly closed container.
• Keep valuable items: Make sure you carefully store precious jewelry and valuables that you cannot conveniently bring along. Use a lockable cabinet or safe. You should also distribute your valuable items in different places and limit the risk of losing them all.
• Lock the door carefully: Don’t just lock the door casually, choose to use secure locks and lock each room separately.
• Ask neighbors to watch your house: “Neighborhood folks are more valuable than faraway relatives.” Ask your neighbors to keep an eye on your house and then don’t forget to thank them with a gift.

2 Choose the right time and schedule

The most important thing to note first is to choose the right time for your Lunar New Year trip. Typically, you should plan this about one month before the Lunar New Year. Usually, it’s within one week or more depending on the agency. Typically, from the 28th to the 2nd day of the Lunar New Year is the time for family and ancestors, so you can consider going before or after this time.

Choosing the departure time should be done about a month before the Lunar New Year since the pre-Lunar New Year period has many tasks. Planning early will help you consider and arrange your tasks properly, choose a destination, and help you book travel services better as well as plan your itinerary for the trip. Especially, you should also pay attention to thoroughly understand the Covid-19 situation in the destination you want to travel to to ensure safety for yourself and your family.

3 Book your trip early

Traveling on a tour will be an excellent option for those who are too busy and have no time to plan their own itineraries.

The advantages of traveling on a tour: Including all services such as transportation, ticket booking, visa if you choose to travel abroad, meals, accommodation, sightseeing; relatively affordable cost; selected famous destinations; visiting more places with the opportunity to learn more about the cultural information of the destination through the guidance of the tour guide. But if you don’t want to be restrained and move a lot, you can also choose a combo tour that only includes plane tickets and accommodation, which is quite reasonable.

You can refer to some tour itineraries before booking a trip.

If you have chosen a tour, you should look up and research early to register for the tour to save costs and other discounts because costs during the Lunar New Year will be higher than usual days.

4 Choose a reputable travel agency

You need to be aware and take the time to research and choose a reliable travel company to book your Lunar New Year tour. Read on the company’s website as well as reviews on their fan page or travel communities to learn about the quality of service, accompanying services and their associated prices, deposit policies, hotels, meals, visa and passport support if you choose to travel abroad, promotions, and more.

Based on the information you find, choose the most reliable travel company. It is important to note that you should not book a tour through an intermediary but should make direct bookings with the travel company to avoid additional costs or even worse “losing money and carrying nothing”.

5 Take note of the contact information of the tour guide or tour leader

After booking the tour, you should thoroughly ask for contact information of the tour guide or tour leader for quick assistance if you need to know more information about the trip, such as unsafe places for children, theft situations, or other unexpected circumstances.

6 Book flights and transportation services early if traveling independently

If the tour often goes through many tourist attractions in a short period of time, and therefore you cannot take advantage of the time to learn more or explore local cuisine, you should travel independently.

It is important to note to book transportation in advance. Close to the Lunar New Year, you can hardly buy tickets anymore, if you can buy them, they will be extremely expensive. So after planning your travel itinerary early, you quickly book bus tickets or other means of transportation when the prices are still reasonable. According to the experience of travelers, it is best to book air tickets and bus tickets about 3-6 months before your trip.

You should buy tickets at bus stations or at the official service counter of the bus company, to avoid traveling along the road, which often has overcrowded situations or exorbitant ticket prices. It is best to book round-trip tickets to avoid ticket shortages. After successful booking, save the electronic ticket on your phone or computer to show it to the staff when boarding. And most importantly, don’t forget about departure time, try to arrive at the bus station at least 30 minutes before departure.

Similarly, buy air tickets through the airline’s official website or authorized agents, to avoid buying fake tickets. On festive occasions, transport and security checks at the airport will take up a lot of your time, so make sure to allocate enough time to arrive before your flight about 75 minutes if your flight is domestic and 3 hours for international flights to avoid wasting time.

7 Pay attention to safety if traveling by car

Before going either by your car or a rental car, check and service the car carefully before a long journey, check the vehicle’s parts such as wheels, engine, and brakes to ensure absolute safety. Especially for rental cars, you should inquire carefully about car rental insurance, registration of the car, as well as compensation policies if there is any damage.

Then, you need to research the routes, especially dangerous mountain passes and slopes. You need to know the routes well to avoid potential risks. You should also avoid drinking alcohol and excessive excitement during the Lunar New Year to ensure your safety while participating in traffic.

8 Book accommodations

During the Lunar New Year, booking accommodations, especially in crowded tourist areas, is often in a state of fully booked and high prices. Therefore, book accommodations or hotels as early as possible to get a room with a good, reasonable price that suits your budget. You can refer to travel booking sites such as Agoda, Traveloka, Vietnam Booking, Vntrip, iVIVU, etc.

9 Dining

When traveling during the Lunar New Year, you should be cautious about eating to avoid food poisoning or stomach upsets from unfamiliar foods, which can ruin the joyful atmosphere of your New Year trip. When traveling, you should bring some non-perishable dry food and snacks like nuts, dried fruit, cookies, Tet cakes because these types of cakes can last for a week or more, etc.

When eating at restaurants, you need to ask about the prices before entering the restaurant, to avoid being overcharged when traveling. Pay attention to hygiene limit street food, do not eat raw foods or foods with unfamiliar ingredients that can cause stomachaches or inconvenience during the trip. In addition, when you have time, you should also look up information about good and safe eating places in the destination through travel review websites, information about food and ask people who have traveled to that area.

10 Take note of the luggage regulations of airlines

Research the maximum baggage regulations of the airline to avoid packing too much baggage that exceeds the weight limit, as each country or airline has different regulations. Also, if you intend to buy some gifts such as wine or perfume, check carefully whether the customs allow it or not, the limit of the volume, whether it is allowed as a carry-on or a checked bag.

You should remove the outer packaging of the product when packing it to make it easier for customs to check and avoid unexpected situations. Fragile items should also be wrapped carefully with plastic or bubble wrap.

11 Prepare cash and ATM cards

You should carry some cash to pay for food and souvenirs. In addition, you should have an ATM card to avoid carrying too much cash and be able to withdraw money when needed or get some benefits when making payments through the card while traveling. Always keep these valuable items close to you, to avoid loss or theft.

12 Prepare your luggage carefully before the trip

It’s best to pack as light as possible when traveling. Prepare a list of important items to put in your suitcase: about 3-4 sets of your best clothes to wear for the Lunar New Year, personal belongings, important documents, a few medical items such as motion sickness pills, stomachache pills, headache pills, etc. and of course, don’t forget your passport.

Avoid being greedy to carry bulky luggage that is difficult to move, which reduces the excitement for the New Year trip. At the same time, pay attention to choose suitable outfits for each purpose on the trip to look beautiful and elegant for the New Year, avoid flashy or revealing clothes, and dress appropriately.

13 Learn about travel information at the destination

Before your trip, you should learn about travel information at your destination: customs and traditions, local specialties, landmarks, weather during the Lunar New Year, etc. Researching in advance is especially important when you travel abroad as there may be completely different cultures and ways of life from Vietnam.

You can learn more about your destination to prearrange necessary personal items such as an umbrella to shelter from the sun and rain, a scarf if the weather is cold.

14 Bring cosmetics for women

Women should also pay attention to bring necessary cosmetics to always look fresh during their Lunar New Year trip. Essential cosmetics that cannot be missed:

Travel-sized shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, travel-sized makeup, fast-action skin care products, and lotion, fragrance.

Be sure to store these items in a separate bag to avoid breakage due to bumps. If possible, bring sample or mini-sized cosmetics as they are compact, sufficient for use, and are already packaged, very convenient. Alternatively, you can decant your cosmetics into small boxes or bottles to bring along. Especially for those traveling abroad, you should pay attention not to bring any liquid cosmetics over 100ml to ensure customs regulations.

15 Respect and preserve the sanctity of the destination

If you visit pagodas or temples during your Lunar New Year trip, you must show respect and observe the standards of etiquette and dress politely, for example, wearing clothes that are not too short or revealing, speaking softly, to ensure the solemnity of these areas.

16 Take precautions against Covid-19

And finally, but not least, strictly follow Covid-19 prevention regulations throughout your trip. Make sure you have enough medical masks, sanitizers, and hand sanitizers, practice personal hygiene maximally, pay attention to clean surfaces with sanitizers, limit contact with anyone who shows symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, or fever, and carry plenty of citrus fruits to boost your immune system for the whole family.

With the above travel tips during the Lunar New Year, we hope to help you and your family have a meaningful New Year trip. Don’t hesitate to gather information, plan, and prepare your luggage, and take your backpack and go!